So? They're still getting what they pay for.

I'm struggling to find a comparison but I think it's probably because there's a clear and easy migration path that they can shut it off for users who pay the company, and expect support, and not that it was free and in beta. I don't mean legally acceptable because it's spelled out in the ToS, but acceptable to the community.

It will still break all apps out there that rely on a workflow with this model. Some will need to regenerate all their data

Yeah that's why it seems bad now. But hopefully for them they thought it through and most wanted to upgrade right away anyway the data regeneration will be quick.

AWS is an example. There are plenty of services which have a free tier. If you are depending on that service you would hope that Amazon doesn't just delete it from out under you. Unlike a pricing update. You can't just pay more to prevent production going down.

seriously? you're being disingenuous

codex being in beta meant it was improving, not that it'd vanish overnight.

it's not about "getting what they pay for," it's about showing some respect to users who trusted the service.

Beta doesn't mean improving, it means not ready for production and with limited or no guarantees.

“Beta” also very much means “use at your own risk”.

So? It's still not cool.